


The smell of chocolate

by ToxicPineapple



Series: Writing Weeks I Didn't Finish [4]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Adults, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Cuddling, Danganronpa Autumn Week, Dangaronpa Autumn Week 2020, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hot Chocolate, It is just very sappy, Kisses, M/M, Rain, Trans Saihara Shuichi, this is just
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple
Summary: But that’s besides the point. Shuichi really hopes that Kaito had the spot of mind to read the forecast and grab a rain jacket this morning. Last time it rained, Shuichi pulled into the driveway at the same time as Kaito was climbing up onto the porch, in a tank top of all things. In all his years of dating, Shuichi has never been in a relationship with someone so shamelessly… well, Kaito isn’t stupid. He’s the opposite of stupid, brilliant actually, and Shuichi knows he hates being called stupid so he wouldn’t do that, even in his head, but… he can be really careless sometimes about his wellbeing.Again with the point about it being frustrating. But they’re working on it! Kaito is in therapy. Shuichi is in therapy too. It happens. They’re doing fine. At least nowadays Kaito will wake Shuichi if he has nightmares instead of going for a run. It’s progress.---Shuichi drives home from work in the rain, then enjoys hot chocolate with his boyfriend.---Autumn week day five: Hot Drinks/Spice
Relationships: Momota Kaito/Saihara Shuichi
Series: Writing Weeks I Didn't Finish [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022718
Comments: 16
Kudos: 80
Collections: April 2020 Server Gift Exchange





	The smell of chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pinkbloodandbears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkbloodandbears/gifts).



> written for autumn week day five, the prompt was hot drinks/spice
> 
> also written for howls! hi howls! i'm finally giving you that gift to make up for the one you didn't receive in the april gift exchange a while ago, lol. i hope you're happy i haven't written saimota in years

Traffic on the way home is a mess. People always drive worse when it rains. Shuichi tuts a little, resting his forearm across the steering wheel, and shakes his head. At this rate, he isn’t going to be home for another half an hour when it would only be a ten-minute drive from here under normal circumstances. He really should have considered taking the back roads-- Kaito is always taking the back roads, cutting through residential areas and throwing peace signs at the kids he passes-- but Shuichi prefers the highway. He’s always been a bit heavy handed with the gas pedal, which can be dangerous, but at least on the highways he can go fast.

He feels worse for Kaito, though. Shuichi and Kaito got a house down in Kyoto so as to be closer to Kaito’s place of work, but as a result they ended up further away from Akifumi’s (Shuichi’s uncle) agency, so when they leave in the morning, Shuichi is usually the one who ends up taking the car. It’s not that much of an issue, and Shuichi thinks that Kaito prefers to jog anyway; he’s not as fitness obsessed as he was back when they were in high school, but he still hits the gym a couple times a week. Enough at least to maintain his Muscle Mass, though Shuichi really doesn’t care about the circumference of his boyfriend’s ‘ceps, no matter how much Miu accused him of it last time they hung out.

Right at this moment, Kaito is probably jogging home from work. Shuichi doubts he’s uncomfortable (Kaito wouldn’t know cold if it smacked him in the face) but he’s always been the type to get sick easily, which means that there’s about a fifty percent chance that he’ll have to take the next couple days off work and ensure that Kaito keeps his ass parked in bed.

Shuichi doesn’t mind. Even if it can be frustrating sometimes getting Kaito to stay stationary-- it’s bad enough when it’s four in the morning and Kaito is dragging Shuichi out from under the covers to go check out a star or something-- there’s nothing he’d rather be spending his time doing, if taking care of his boyfriend is one of the options. That might be a bit silly when there’s food that needs to be put on the table, but Shuichi and Kaito live a comfortable life. Kaito is an astronomer with a local research group and they cover sick leave, and if worst came to worst, Shuichi’s aunt and uncle would never let them starve.

But that’s besides the point. Shuichi really hopes that Kaito had the spot of mind to read the forecast and grab a rain jacket this morning. Last time it rained, Shuichi pulled into the driveway at the same time as Kaito was climbing up onto the porch, in a  _ tank top  _ of all things. In all his years of dating, Shuichi has never been in a relationship with someone so shamelessly… well, Kaito isn’t stupid. He’s the opposite of stupid, brilliant actually, and Shuichi  _ knows  _ he hates being called stupid so he wouldn’t do that, even in his head, but… he can be really careless sometimes about his wellbeing.

Again with the point about it being frustrating. But they’re working on it! Kaito is in therapy. Shuichi is in therapy too. It happens. They’re doing fine. At least nowadays Kaito will wake Shuichi if he has nightmares instead of going for a run. It’s progress.

Ah, there’s Shuichi’s exit. He pulls off the highway with some effort and drives the last couple minutes back to his house, observing the way the yellow streetlights reflect off the wet asphalt. City living can be obnoxious at times, especially for Kaito’s asthma-- Shuichi wishes sometimes that Kaito wasn’t such a blatantly big city person, because then they could pack up and move to the mountains or something-- but it’s pretty like this, raindrops falling down the telephone poles and hanging off the power lines. There isn’t anybody at the corner up ahead, so Shuichi turns the car to drive through a puddle, soaking a fire hydrant. Hah. Nailed it.

Look, sometimes you just… yeah. Shuichi’s been spending too much time around Kokichi lately, he knows.

As Shuichi pulls up into the driveway, he sees that Kaito’s slippers are already on the front porch, presumably drying, which means that the man is already home. He’s probably been home long enough to get settled, actually, that traffic was bad. Shuichi climbs out of the car and takes a moment, heedless of the deluge, to stretch out the cramp in his neck, and in his lower back, before grabbing his briefcase from the passenger seat and using it as a makeshift umbrella in his run up to the house.

He shakes himself off. Boof. Cold. Wet. Wearing leather shoes and walking through puddles is always unpleasant.

Autumn is a nice season, though, one of his favourites. Technically Shuichi is a summer baby, being born before the equinox, but he’s always identified more with fall, because the vibrant reds and oranges and yellows have always been so pretty. He likes it when it’s overcast, when rain drizzles on and off throughout the morning, when he steps out of his house and gets hit in the face with a gust of wind. It’s all just very nice. Most important, it’s an excuse for Shuichi to wear dark colours, which, yes please. He’ll wear dark colours anyway, but in the summertime he always feels on the verge of passing out in his turtlenecks. Highly inconvenient to the emo aesthetic.

Shuichi does a little shiver, then pulls out his key, quickly unlocking and opening the door. The kitchen light is on when he gets inside, and he can smell the scent of chocolate wafting down the hall, so it doesn’t take a detective to figure out what’s happening in here. Shuichi shucks off his shoes and discards his jacket, putting his briefcase on the coffee table as he steps into his indoor slippers. He pads down the hall, finding his way through the dark into the kitchen, and smiles when he sees his boyfriend at the stove, his phone open to spotify on the counter,  _ I Am Moana  _ playing quietly from his phone speaker.

His hair is damp, and tied back, and there’s a white towel tucked around the back of his neck, hanging over his galaxy print tank top. His basketball shorts are a questionable decision considering the weather, but then again, the house is plenty warm, and Kaito has never had difficulties in that area. Shuichi pushes himself up off the wall and pads into the kitchen proper, curling his arms around Kaito’s waist from behind and breathing in the smell of his shampoo, pushing up onto his toes to hook his chin over Kaito’s shoulder.

“I’m making hot chocolate,” Kaito says, without starting, the corner of his lip twitching in a smile. “This  _ is  _ Shuichi, right, my boyfriend, and not a cuddly home invader?”   
  


“Ah, both, actually,” Shuichi squeezes Kaito slightly, nuzzling his neck. “Or maybe just one, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Yeah, okay,” Kaito snorts. “Does the home invader want cinnamon in his cocoa?”

Kaito is already the kind of weirdo who puts hot sauce in his hot chocolate, but it’s surprisingly good, so Shuichi won’t complain about it. Besides, the spices are nice this time of year, and they complement the flavour of the chocolate surprisingly well. Kaito has always had a way with comforting beverages. Shuichi kisses Kaito on the jaw and then drops back down onto flat feet, humming. “I would, yes.”

“Cool,” Kaito smiles, and hums along a little as  _ Into The Unknown  _ starts to play from his phone. (It’s much too high for him, but that’s never stopped Kaito.) “Wanna go sit? Or did you wanna shower first? You’re home kind of late, I was about to call you.”   
  


“I should have texted,” Shuichi admits, tossing his head slightly, squeezing Kaito again and then slipping back, running his hand through his own slightly damp hair. “But you always get on me about texting while driving so I decided to wait until it was safer. Ah, you weren’t worried, were you?”   
  


“Nah, I know my sidekick can take care of himself,” Kaito grins, and Shuichi smiles too, but he wonders if there isn’t a little bit of a fib in that. Like, Shuichi knows that Kaito believes in him-- he always has, for reasons that Shuichi can’t discern-- but if an accident was to happen, it wouldn’t necessarily be Shuichi’s fault. And Kaito’s parents died in a car accident back when he was eight.

…He isn’t as fussed about taking cars as he was back in high school, but. That kind of trauma doesn’t just leave in a hurry. Shuichi doesn’t call him out, though, opting instead to reach up and plant a kiss on Kaito’s nose, and then to walk into the living room, pulling off his sweater to shuck his binder (which he tosses on the coffee table with a little huff, trading it out for one of Kaito’s old JAXA t-shirts, which is draped over the back of the couch) and then nabbing a blanket from one of the armchairs, pulling it around himself and flopping backwards into the couch.

Kaito’s t-shirt smells like AXE Body Spray. He doesn’t touch the stuff anymore, hasn’t in years, but the smell is still comforting to Shuichi, who breathes it in as he sinks into the cushions. Their house is warm, especially with the blanket, and the kitchen light is the only one on, casting an amber glow on their living room. The curtains in here are slightly drawn, and through them Shuichi can see raindrops falling on the glass, hear the light  _ pitter patter  _ of them dropping on the roof.

It’s all very comforting. Shuichi thinks he might fall asleep, and the feeling intensifies when Kaito comes in from the kitchen, two steaming mugs of cocoa held in hand, dropping down into the couch beside Shuichi.

They smell strongly of chocolate, with spicy undertones, and the first gulp Shuichi takes burns his tongue, but it also spreads warmth from his throat down to the tips of his toes, and he lets out a pleased hum, practically melting into Kaito when he’s pulled over. Kaito’s chuckle is low, fond, and Shuichi feels the vibration of it against his shoulder.

Shuichi is so, so in love with him.

“Good?” Kaito asks, his eyes half lidded. Shuichi reaches up to touch his face, brushing fingers over scratchy stubble, then the soft curve of his cheek. He’s pretty, all purple eyes and long, thick eyelashes.

“As ever,” Shuichi replies. When Kaito cups his face in turn, Shuichi turns his head to kiss his palm, and then flutters his own eyelashes and Kaito’s fingers card through his hair. “I’m not going to make it to the shower, at this rate.”

“Sleep,” Kaito sounds like he’s smiling, though Shuichi’s eyes are closed too much for him to be able to tell. “I’ll wake ya up early so you can shower.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Shuichi grumbles, but then a yawn slips out of him, so he already knows which choice he’s going to make. “Please make it after five in the morning, I need at least two hours of rest to function in my field.”   
  


“No promises,” Kaito murmurs, chuckling again, but when he kisses Shuichi on the forehead, Shuichi thinks that he’ll probably heed the request. Kaito is sweet like that.

With the warmth from the mug in his hands and the blanket around his shoulders and the man beside him, it doesn’t take very long for Shuichi to drift asleep. It’s nice. Shuichi feels safe. He can’t remember feeling this at home in any of the years before he met Kaito.

Wouldn’t trade it for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> can't believe i just wrote a fic for the ceo of horny herself


End file.
